Jump to content

APE Caches


Nerves

Recommended Posts

My plan is 2 full days, 2 nights (maybe 3 depending on when we get in) at the place where the ape is. This will give us enough time to find it and to take a day to explore the actual park and have an event to celebrate my 5K.

 

Two or 3 full days in Sao Paulo which would allow time to find the couple of caches there and actual do some touristy stuff.

 

I don't plan to fly all the way down there and just do one cache and then home. The expensive part is getting there, once you're there, prices aren't so bad.

Link to comment

I expect to be able to hike by this summer or early fall so I'm still planning to do this some time between November 2007 and February 2006 for all who are still interested.

 

I was thinking about putting together a group myself. Sounds great. I just checked the cost from DFW and it was about $ 1,700 round trip. I sure have done crazier things than this. Keep me informed.

 

Thanks

<_<

Link to comment

Most of the folks who are keen on going have looked into the travel documents since this thread was started a couple of months ago. My passport took 2 weeks (post 9/11) but I would definitely say you should allow at least 6 weeks. Ten months is plenty of time to get the paperwork in order though.

 

For those who have never traveled outside of the USA, don't get stressed about this stuff. Remember, it's an adventure! :blink:

Link to comment

I was thinking about putting together a group myself. Sounds great. I just checked the cost from DFW and it was about $ 1,700 round trip. I sure have done crazier things than this. Keep me informed.

 

Thanks

:blink:

Whoa! :rolleyes: If you were quoted $1,700 RT from DFW to Sao Paulo (apparently the nearest large international airport to the cache site), you must have either used a full-price online booking service, or may have asked for pricing on a travel within the next 21 days, which is often (but not always) much more expensive. From where I am located here on the East Coast, near Baltimore and DC, I am able to get price quotes for a RT trip to/from Sao Paulo, Brazil for between $440 to $500 with about 3-4 weeks advance notice. In fact, I just got a price quote for RT travel to/from Sao Paulo for a trip from Jan 25 to Feb 1 for $478 on a well-known online airfare discounting service (I hapened to use Best Travel Store, but got much the same quote last week from two other online discounters...). And, last year when I had to go to Nicaragu on an emergency consulting trip on only a 2-day advance notice from my client, I was, despite the short notice, nonetheless able to find RT airfare for about $530. So, if you received a price quote of $1,7000 RT to brazil, that is way too high, and you can find it much cheaper!

 

Next, if you do not yet have a passport, and do not feel like waiting in line, you can always go online to any of a dozen fine passport and visa expediting services (I use VisaHQ.com, but there are many...). All you need to do is send them digital copies of your passport photos and about a $50 to $100 service fee, and they will take care of all the headache of procuring your passport for you and will send it back to you within a few days. Same for visas; whenever I need to travel to a foreign country for my consulting, I would never dream of driving to DC and standing in line at the embassy over and over again; I just pay the visa expediting service a few bucks, and send them my passport via Fedex Overnite, and two or three days later, I have it back via Fedex.

 

Incidentally, some previous posters have implied that it can be a lengthy process getting a visa to Brazil from the Brazilian embassy. In general, this is not true, and they are quite speedy, but it is important to understand that they are one of the stricter and more demanding countries regarding issuing visas: they will only issue a 90-day visa (no longer) to US residents traveling as toursits, and you must send them proof of purchase of a RT air ticket or itinerary to and from Brazil departing within the next 90 days, and that ticket or itinerary (i.e., for e-tickets from an online service) must show your name and must show that the ticket has been paid.

 

BTW, I have, for the past 6 months, been toying with the idea of running down to Brazil for 5 days to hunt this APE cache, but I usually find better things to do with the money, such as placing another Psycho Urban cache! :blink::blink:

Edited by Vinny & Sue Team
Link to comment

Just an update to the thread OBJets and LJ &Co have gone to Brazil in search of the Ape Cache this week. They promised to pick up that Gold Federation coin for me Joe. I hope to hear from them soon how the trip went.

 

They found it yesarday ain't that Tooooooooooo COOL,

 

BTW the visa is only good for 90 days

 

Joe

Link to comment

sun-moon-starz and I have already been talking to Odragon with tentative plans to go along, though he's been pulling ahead in me in numbers, so I don't think it will be for my 5000th. I should be well over 4k by then, assuming my finds keep up like they have been. Have to cut back on some of the geo-tourism this year to save up for that trip; could be the trip of a lifetime, though!

Link to comment

Count me in! I got sooooooo ticked off the other day when I found out I was heading through the Chicago area on business. The first thing I thought of was the Ape Cache up there. Now it's down, and looks to be almost out. :ph34r: So with only two shots left at grabbing one, I either have to fly West or South. Brazil sounds better than the great Northwest right now.

 

Just in case you read this far and are wondering what the heck an A.P.E. cache is:

 

All Hail Markwell and his Project A.P.E. page

Edited by Jhwk
Link to comment

About the Visa.. if you planning on going. your visa application can only be submitted right before you go.. I think it is a month.. but you would have to check that for sure. With that you need to submit your passport as well. I was in Brazil in 2005 and we are heading there for a month and a half in May. Hoping to try and find this one, but not sure how much time we will have. We are going to do research and not sure if we will get that way but I will keep you up to date on our adventures.

:ph34r:

Link to comment

From the US Dept of State's Brazil page:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1072.html

 

October 20, 2006

 

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Brazil, a nation the size of the lower 48 United States, has an advanced developing economy. Facilities for tourism are excellent in the major cities, but vary in quality in remote areas. The capital is Brasilia. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Brazil for additional information.

 

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: The Department of State strongly encourages travelers to obtain passports well in advance of any planned travel. Routine passport applications by mail take up to six weeks to be issued. For further information, please see the New Requirements for Travelers on the State Department's Consular website.

 

A passport and visa are required for U.S. citizens traveling to Brazil for any purpose. Brazilian visas must be obtained in advance from the Brazilian Embassy or consulate nearest to the traveler's place of residence. There are no "airport visas" and immigration authorities will refuse entry to Brazil to anyone not possessing a valid visa. All Brazilian visas, regardless of the length of validity, must initially be used within 90 days of the issuance date or will no longer be valid.

Plenty more to be found at the page linked above.

Edited by MissJenn
Link to comment

Add my name to the list of people who would be interested in this adventure. I have done a decent amount of independent travel so am pretty good with wandering in foreign lands.

 

I would recommend to whoever is going to be the organizer on this that you have a fixed schedule for a couple of days before and after APE day. Before and after that people can do whatever they want.

 

I have found that for group travel unless you have a fixed plan there can be a lot of challenges. I use the "Rule of Squares" when considering group travel without a fixed schedule. With one person you only need to consider what you want to do, one squared is one. With more than one you have to consider what each other person wants in addition to yourself, so does each other person. With two people there are four sets of considerations: what do I want, what does the other person want. That has to be considered from both sides. By the time you are at five people you have 25 sets of things to consider. It gets ugly quickly.

 

Thanks to Globalgirl for pointing out this thread to me.

Link to comment

I'm planning on the Washington one in the spring. It's closer. :rolleyes:

If you wait till June, I know of a certain visitor coming to see you again and I have a side hike planned just for that.

I'm about to start a thread in the NW forum. :o

 

edit: thread started. :blink::lol:

Edited by Ambrosia
Link to comment

Count me as "seriously interested" in a Brazil adventure. This one is on my top-of-fridge To Do list.

 

Pick some dates, and I'll try to join you guys. For me, it'll depend on 1) time to get a visa, 2) airfare, and 3) is the airport safe again? (Short, non-draining runway = plane in suburbs, ouch.)

 

I'm an old hand at 3rd-world travel, so Brazil should be a piece of cake. However, there is safety in numbers...

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...